Prophetic simplicity (via ad dominum)

(Editor’s note: This is a guest post written and contributed by The Rev. Fr. Michael Ruk, pastor of St. Paul Church, Levittown and All Saints Church, Fallsington, PA. This is the first post in a series on Christian minimalism.)

Give us this day our daily bread.

Many of us have prayed these words over and over for years, but have we really stopped and thought about what these words actually mean? The key word here is “daily”- not weekly, monthly, or yearly. We ask God each day to supply our need for the basics of life. Not the excesses or desires, but the simple needs.

In the last year, needs and wants have changed greatly. Unemployment is great, folks have lost their homes, and many have plunged into a deep dark place called depression. We live in challenging times which go against many of the dreams and values of western American culture. One value taught by Jesus is simplicity. Jesus came from a poor working class family. Joseph, his foster father, was a handy man- a blue collar worker. No where in the Scriptures do we see Jesus aspiring to wealth or status. No where does Jesus say to his disciples you need to have a three car garage and a five bedroom house. The gift of simplicity that was such a core value of the life of Jesus really has been forgotten by much of our church and our clergy.

The recent economic down turn in many ways should be looked upon as a blessing; a wake up call for us to examine how we live and our relationship to the “stuff” of our life. As a Church and as individual Christians maybe we need to be examples how to shed what is unnecessary or unused.

As a priest there is nothing more that bothers me that the blatant materialism and classism exhibited within our churches. Some churches are more country clubs with spirituality than houses of worship.

How can we be prophets in regard to issues of simplicity and materialism? Or has the church lost all credibility on this matter?

13 Simple Practices—-borrowed from a friend:

1. Turn off the TV. Take a TV fast. Start with a week off.
2. Grow something you can eat.
3. Identify people who inspire you. Read about them, get to know them or spend time with them.
4. Spend time in nature.
5. Do something daily for the pleasure of doing it.
6. Clear your mind. Sit in silence or meditate or pray.
7. Have regular contact with beauty.
8. Get to know your neighbor.
9. Consume less stuff. Take a holiday from shopping.
10. Choose a cause that you care about and give time and attention to it.
11. Eat locally produced food.
12. Consider where you get your information and be more selective about what you take in.
13. Hang out with a child, old folks and the infirm and learn from them.

(Ad Dominum welcomes submissions of all sorts. Send a message to t dot curnutte at gmail dot com for any submissions or questions. Many, many thanks to Fr. Ruk for this piece, and here’s hoping for more from him in the future.)

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